Outspoken American soccer analyst Alexi Lalas admits he wants England to make it to the World Cup final so that they can suffer the ‘ultimate heartbreak’ on US soil.
The Three Lions are gearing up for a highly-anticipated semifinal clash with Argentina on Wednesday, when they will bid to reach the final for the first time since their only World Cup triumph all the way back in 1966.
Should they get past Lionel Messi’s country, they will set up an all-important showdown with either France or Spain, who meet in the other last-four tie on Tuesday.
Ahead of their date with destiny against Argentina, Lalas has explained why he doesn’t mind if England make it to the final, despite stressing that he is desperate for them to not win the World Cup in America shortly after the USA’s 250th birthday.
The former USMNT player told MLB icon and fellow Fox Sports analyst Alex Rodriguez about the prospect of England winning it: ‘By all accounts this has been the most successful World Cup in history, but there’s some things that I can’t abide by. As you mentioned, England coming over to our shores, on our 250th birthday, and them winning a World Cup after 60 years… we cannot have that happen.
Alexi Lalas wants England to make it to the World Cup final and suffer the ‘ultimate heartbreak’
The Three Lions are gearing up for a crucial semifinal clash with Argentina on Wednesday
‘But this is where I’m torn. Now, they could lose in the semifinal, or they can go to the final and experience the ultimate heartbreak and hurt and lose in the final.’
However, Lalas did also concede: ‘The problem is that this England team is very good and dare I say this… even likeable.’
While he will be rooting against them if they do make it to the final, Lalas was not critical of England as a team, unlike his fellow American pundit Mike Grella.
Grella sparked controversy after their quarterfinal win over Norway on Saturday by hitting out at their performances at this summer’s tournament and even describing them as ‘like having the world’s ugliest daughter.’
‘The good news is you have two games left, semifinal and final, and you can actually win a World Cup for the first time since 1966. The bad news is you’re not very good at football,’ Grella said on CBS Sports at the weekend.
‘You’re not good with the ball, you’re not good at transitions, you leave unbelievable spaces in between the lines. By English standards, it was a really poor performance. The impressive part is how poor you are and you’re able to get away with the win.
‘It’s like having the world’s ugliest daughter and saying, “You’re beautiful baby.”‘
Lalas is praying that England don’t win the World Cup on US soil after America’s 250th birthday
Nevertheless, England manager Thomas Tuchel was also unimpressed by his side’s performance against Norway despite reaching the World Cup semifinals.
‘We made life very difficult for ourselves today. The result is amazing. But not happy with the performance,’ he said after the game.
‘In every sense. Again the commitment is there, but we made life very difficult for us in the way we played, how we played.
‘Sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough. We were lucky today.’
